Los Texmaniacs

Los Texmaniacs are global ambassadors for Texas roots music: pure roots, new boots, and the evolving sound of conjunto. Founded by legendary bajo sexto master Max Baca, the ensemble pushes the genre forward, building on a legacy that includes Max's work on eleven other GRAMMY Award-recognized projects, as well as the band's own GRAMMY Award-winning Smithsonian Folkways album, Borders y Bailes. Currently recording for WorldHaus Music, the group expands the creative benchmark set by that landmark release and its follow-up, Cruzando Borders. For decades, Max served as the premier apprentice to the iconic Flaco Jimenez; a landmark Texas Public Radio profile described their bond as "tighter than family," honoring Max’s journey toward becoming a definitive Texas icon. The band redefines the genre by infusing traditional Tex-Mex with R-and-B, blues, and rock-infused polkas—an evolution cemented by Max's induction into the Texas Conjunto Music Hall of Fame. The group's signature groove thrives on the interplay between Max and his nephew, accordion virtuoso Josh Baca. Their reach spans performing at historic Texas dancehalls and citywide celebrations to leading interactive workshops that teach the history and styling of the music—preserving the art of Texas’s indigenous folk form, conjunto—as a vital working-class cultural heartbeat for the next generation. Photo by Christian Moller.